…Crownslayer looked calm on the surface, but inside she was panicking hard.
She never imagined that on only her second day infiltrating Lungmen she'd run into trouble this big—big enough to cost her life.
She'd noticed Lucian spying on the Reunion Movement members and wanted to kill him to eliminate the witness… but who knew she'd run straight into a brick wall?
Just the heat of being pressed this close against a man made Crownslayer's skin crawl. She hated physical contact to begin with.
And now, with a gun pressed into her waist and a Floating Blade hovering against her neck… things looked very, very bad.
She had never seen Originium Arts that let someone control a weapon without touching it.
If he were a Sarkaz, maybe. But a Sankta? Sankta were famous for their talent with guns, not other Originium Weapons.
This was truly the unluckiest day of her life. Crownslayer's adrenaline spiked. "Who are you? What do you want? Are you Lungmen police?"
"I'm the one asking questions here, miss." Lucian's expression was almost playful—he didn't look remotely bothered by the dagger at his throat.
But since she was willing to talk, that was good enough. Lucian said openly, "I'm just an innocent passerby. Name's Lucian Sinclair. I'm a courier for a logistics company. You?"
Crownslayer twitched, hesitated, then muttered, "…Reunion Movement. Crownslayer."
Lucian repeated the name and looked slightly disappointed.
Why did all these organizations love edgy codenames? Was it that hard to use their real names?
Still, whatever. He'd overheard the Reunion Movement grunts mention that name earlier—so this red-haired wolf woman was at least some kind of small boss.
Crownslayer saw that Lucian didn't seem determined to kill her, and her tone softened. "I don't know what kind of weird logistics company you work for, but how about we each take a step back? I let you go, you let me go. We pretend this didn't happen."
"No deal." Lucian wasn't buying it. "You're the one who suddenly jumped out to kill me—how does that magically become 'we're even'? And anyway, your people were the ones running a pyramid scheme. You came to drag Lungmen civilians into a Riot? You seriously want starving women and kids to go kill people? Are you being for real?"
Red light flashed in Crownslayer's eyes. "Don't act like you understand anything!"
She suddenly grew agitated and leaned forward another inch, not caring that the Floating Blade cut into her skin.
The two of them were pressed even closer. The young wolf woman glared at him with blazing resentment. "Women and kids? You know they're women and kids! But Ursus doesn't care! The only label they see is Infected! If you want to live, even little girls have to pick up knives! That's the fight we deserve and must take!"
"…'We', huh."
Lucian rolled her words around in his head, taking a good look at her half-hidden face under the hood.
Crownslayer wasn't actually that old—probably around Exusiai's age. Practically a young girl… probably.
But the arm that poked out from her sleeve wasn't just pale; it was marred with the raw, spiraling Crystallization of advanced Oripathy.
Lucian asked quietly, "How long have you been Infected? Have you ever had a proper examination? What's your Blood Originium-Crystal Density, and your Cell-Originium Assimilation?"
"...Huh?" Crownslayer made a bewildered noise.
What was with this man? Why was he suddenly talking like a doctor?
Was this really what you said to someone threatening to kill you?
Suspicious, she snapped, "Who the hell knows? And why should I tell you? Are you Infected?"
Lucian replied, "Unfortunately, I'm not."
Not Infected.
Those were not words someone should say unfortunately in this world.
The more she heard, the weirder this man became. Crownslayer was so confused she didn't know how to respond.
So Lucian laid out his terms. "I can let you go. My condition is that you leave Lungmen immediately—and you're not taking anyone with you."
"…Who do you think you are?" Crownslayer hissed. "You're not even Infected! Why play saint for Infected refugees? Sure, Lungmen's better than Ursus, but do you think they can live good lives here? If they want to fight for their own fate, what does that have to do with you?"
She had a point.
Lucian thought so too. She wasn't wrong—he really was sticking his nose where it didn't belong.
But he'd been sticking his nose into this kind of thing for years, ever since he'd arrived in Lungmen.
And because Lungmen had plenty of people just like him—who meddled, who helped—that was how he survived here as an outsider.
Lucian knew the allure of fanaticism far too well. It washed right over him. "If they truly choose to follow you, I won't interfere. But lying to them with your slogans and propaganda—that's different. What are you planning in Chernobog? What's this 'action that will make the whole world rise up'?"
"—." Crownslayer clamped her mouth shut, her eyes sharpening like blades.
Judging by that reaction, Lucian was certain now—they were planning something terrible in Chernobog.
"Leaving? Or not leaving?" Lucian asked. His patience ended there.
His Halo and Wings flared.
Several more Floating Blades materialized out of the light.
Crownslayer's eyes widened as seven scarlet blades—long and short—hovered around her body, each one aimed at a vital point.
Lucian repeated calmly, "Right now, I can still pretend I saw nothing. Take your people and leave. Don't ever come back to Lungmen."
"You… what are you?"
Crownslayer's heart finally broke.
Even if she killed him, it would be at best a double suicide—and more likely, she'd just die for nothing.
Her life wasn't something she could waste here.
Humiliated, lips trembling, Crownslayer prepared to concede—
"Lucian…?"
Both froze.
Lucian and Crownslayer jolted in sync like startled cats.
In an instant, the seven Floating Blades vanished into Lucian's Wings, and he holstered his gun.
Crownslayer instinctively sheathed her dagger as well. Completely unnecessary—but she still did it.
At the entrance of the Alley stood a young Ursus girl—Misha—blinking at the sight before her.
"Lucian and Lyudmila are hugging… hugging! Lucian and Lyudmila! They're hugging! They're really hugging!"
"Why do you have to repeat it so many times!?" Crownslayer—apparently Lyudmila—practically exploded.
She was absolutely panicking, face red to the tips of her ears, but couldn't even move because she and Lucian were still stuck together.
And to make things worse—
Hearing Misha's voice, several Reunion Movement members poked their heads over.
Gossip Movement A: "Boss Crownslayer!? With a man!? Sticking together!?"
Gossip Movement B: "Boss, you work fast! We've only been here one day and you already found a boyfriend!?"
Gossip Movement C: "No, no—look at that posture. That's an old lover! No wonder Boss volunteered to come to Lungmen—she came to reunite with her man!"
"—I will kill every one of you."
Lyudmila's face was red enough to bleed. She looked one second away from performing an on-the-spot spinning explosion.